The creative Chicago/ Southern California guitarist brought his tight trio to town for some jagged explorations on the jazz aesthetic.

Concert promoter Bonnie Wright's importance to the music and arts community received some rare public acknowledgement on May 14, when she was awarded a proclamation signed by Mayor Bob Filner declaring it to be Bonnie Wright Day in San Diego. …

Jazz should always be like this: exciting, connected to the blues, swinging, grounded in tradition while surging into the future.

When jazz is hitting on all of its cylinders, there is no more important art form on this planet. On May 10, the newest incarnation of the Mark Dresser Quintet demonstrated, in front of a packed house of vocal supporters, …

The Chicago guitarist returns to Fresh Sound @ Space 4 Art with his longstanding trio.

Bonnie Wright closes out her Spring String Theory concert series with a bang on May 14 by way of a special appearance by Chicago guitar hero Jeff Parker's trio, featuring bassist Chris Lopes and drummer Chad Taylor. These three have …

Moran, bassist Tarus Mateen and especially drummer Nasheet Waits laid it down.

The May 8 Athenaeum Jazz concert featuring Jason Moran & The Bandwagon was a fascinating conceptual affair that's reach occasionally exceeded its grasp -- even though there were plenty of bright moments. Using his i-pod to play transitional material from …

The bassist's brand new disc features Ian Tordella, Peter Sprague and Charlie Weller.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/may/07/45158/ Although he hasn't been in San Diego long, bassist Ben Wanicur has been making waves on the jazz scene, and he recently released an album under his own name, The Excluded Middle with saxophonist Ian Tordella guitar hero Peter …

Introducing new members Ben Schachter on saxophone and Kjell Nordeson on drums, Dresser, Joshua White and Michael Dessen pack a big punch.

Friday, May 10, contrabass master Mark Dresser will debut the latest version of his West Coast Quintet, which features new members tenor saxophonist Ben Schachter and drummer Kjell Nordeson alongside veterans pianist Joshua White and trombonist Michael Dessen. I had …

Moran is one of the most highly regarded pianists of his generation.

Internationally acclaimed pianist Jason Moran returns to San Diego May 8, at TSRI under the auspices of Athenaeum Jazz, produced by Dan Atkinson. Moran will be leading his longstanding trio The Bandwagon featuring bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits. …

Tenor man Halley leads a veteran ensemble through some wicked free-bop.

Oregon based tenor saxophonist Rich Halley has been producing superior free-jazz music for many years and his group, the Rich Halley 4, shows the weight of that experience on their brand new release Crossing The Passes on Pine Eagle Records. …

Weller led a superb ensemble through the music of vocal icon Ella Fitzgerald.

Young double-bass virtuoso Danny Weller is back in town for a week or so, and he somehow found time to organize a tribute concert to the great Ella Fitzgerald with a San Diego all-star band at 98 Bottles on April …

The vibraphonist led a stellar sextet celebrating his new music in front of a sold-out house.

Vibraphonist Anthony Smith celebrated the CD release of two new discs on April 27 at 98 Bottles, leading an all-star sextet with pianist Mike Wofford, flutist Holly Hofmann, guitarist Peter Sprague, bassist Danny Weller and drummer Duncan Moore through two …

Endlessly inventive and swinging, White really shines in the small room.

San Diego pianist Joshua White continues to demonstrate that he is ready for virtually any high-profile gig. I can see him making an immediate contribution to the groups led by Dave Holland, Wayne Shorter or Charles Lloyd, for instance -- …

Alternating between the classical instrument and a highly processed electric, Riley impressed on both axes.

I really had no idea who Gyan Riley was before attending his Fresh Sound @ Space 4 Art debut on April 25 — just a matter of faith, I guess, that curator Bonnie Wright would not let me down. Of …

The guitarist brings his diverse and exploratory music to the East Village.

Concert promoter extraordinaire Bonnie Wright continues her quest to expand the ears of the San Diego listening public on April 25, with a special solo concert by guitarist/composer Gyan Riley. Riley has a background in the classical world, but he …

The LA saxophone virtuoso delivered a smoking set.

Alto saxophonist Danny Janklow made his San Diego performance debut as a bandleader on April 20, teaming up with fellow sax man Christopher Hollyday, bassist Hamilton Price, pianist Joshua White and drummer Bob Weller for an exciting night of post-bop …

Pianist Joshua White brought drum icon Marvin "Smitty" Smith, bassist Hamilton Price and tenor saxophonist Ben Schachter into the Pacific Beach venue.

April 18 represented a special day in the evolution of piano master Joshua White. Drum legend Marvin "Smitty" Smith made the trek down from LA, as did bassist Hamilton Price to join White and tenor saxophonist Ben Schachter for a …

The young LA alto saxophonist makes his San Diego bandleading debut.

Brace yourself for some "alto-madness," jazz fans. On April 20, young LA saxophone master Danny Janklow comes to Dizzy's, sharing the frontline duties with SD reed virtuoso Christopher Hollyday, fellow Angeleno bassist Hamilton Price with local heavyweights pianist Joshua White …

Ross-Ma'u led a tight ensemble of veteran and younger players through an ambitious program of original material and lesser known standards.

One of Chuck Perrin of Dizzy's greatest attributes is his fondness for showcasing emergent or lesser known talent to the wider San Diego jazz fan base. On April 14, I got the opportunity to take in a show that featured …

Nate Jarrell led an all-star quintet through the difficult music of Ornette Coleman and Pat Metheny.

It takes some balls to commit to a concert celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the iconic Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman recording Song X, one of the most powerful and singular musical statements of our time. On April 13, guitarist Nate Jarrell …

A brand new American play by Richard Montoya prominently features local jazz stars.

I had the privilege of attending opening night of Federal Jazz Project on April 12, so I thought I'd pass on some observations -- although, I'm certainly not a theater critic. In case you haven't heard, Federal Jazz Project is …

Pianist Geoffrey Keezer pretty much knocked it out of the park with a wide-ranging, very dynamic performance.

Piano virtuoso Geoffrey Keezer dropped in to Jazz Live ( the excellent series produced by Jazz 88.3) on April 9, performing a rare, local solo concert that was also being recorded for an upcoming DVD. Opening with "Bag's Groove," Keezer …